BOTEN - The Scrapper

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Joined
May 21, 2015
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Inspired to create a profile after long lurking... I'm throwing my hat late into this build off, with barely a month to go! I've recently finished my second -from scratch build- (both documented at endless-sphere, since I made them electric. However, this seems more the right forum, since it needs to be a good bike before it can be a good e-bike!) Each of the first two took about a year to complete. My goal in entering BOTEN is to motivate myself to pick up the pace a bit.

Since I'm on a moratorium from buying new raw materials, I looked around my shop and put some stuff together: the crankset, a rigid, disc fork & quill stem and some disc rear dropouts from Nova round out the bike specific parts. Well, the wheels too. The frame will come from assorted steel SCRAP, or maybe 'leftovers' is a better word: 3/4" round 4130, 3/4" square mild, 1/2" round mild, and some 1/2"x 1" rectangle.

Still working some of the details, but the photos should show you my thought process so far. Wheelbase is 48". Head Tube angle is 30*. Aiming for an effective seat tube of 20".
gQT21mFtYyKAPYSTRrDnHLmG8CH4olJ0hRfzoHKvdC8=w640-h480-no

xsGhbrXK9NQ6h4JnZM7CLpNFhq8khh-hEIXhMlFHZcA=w640-h368-no

QFStHALpszzbvvWk5hW-DXr8OQE1RSonruu35CyU-hg=w640-h396-no
0HifdEYuajMKN9sD1sWElm-xAIFkIDxKMbbqGA8AszU=w640-h480-no
 
Welcome aboard.
Your "thought process" looks pretty cool to me so far.
 
Day 2; July 2;
Small progress is still progress. Cut the headtube today. Mitered the Top tube as well, but no pic.
fQHL0qeOW6sKHMXn8s7GoRt3kFEDIEsb-YjDxjPc3Qw=w480-h640-no
 
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Day 3; July 3;
Not specifically bike parts, nor is it scrap, but I needed to do it if I'm going to keep at this madness... An alignment jig! The design was inspired by what I saw OCD used in the "Simply Red" build: http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/simply-red.82308/ I don't know if that is the first example of this method, but it is the first I've seen, and I've searched many home frame jigs. Very economical. $63, including bolts, at the big box hardware store where you can save big money. I'm not planning on having as much frame drop below the axle line as some do, so the axle mounting is only 6" tall. I can always add more later for different designs.
2015-07-03.jpg
 
Looking good John:
That's the beauty of forums, there's so much info and inspiration to be gained from the work of others'. I've seen some amazing jigs on this and other sites (Matt on ES especially) with cool aluminum extrusions and lathe turned head tube cones, etc. But on a real world budget you can't beat a $63 one. If the wheels, head tube and bottom bracket are properly aligned, you're bound to build a ride with predictable handling. Looking forward to seeing more progress. :thumbsup:
 
Day 5; July 5;
Independence day saw not a Scrap of bike building. ;)
Thanks for the continued words of encouragement!
Today, another small thing accomplished: the rear axle alignment bit of the jig. I'm always reminded of how any job: painting, welding, whatever, is all about preparation. This small thing took a silly-long amount of time, but I know if not done right, the whole enterprise is at risk. (these are not the chain stays I will use, just some handy guides.)
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Nice progress! Love the twin downtubes!
 

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